He Was Ready
by thebestkindofinsane
Summary: Clove was his best friend, his sole confidant, and the one he held closest. After her death, what does he have left? Katniss escaped after killing Clove, and who else could help him find her than the one and only, Peeta Mellark.
1. Reaping Day

_Reaping Day_

He was ready for this. Cato's eyes narrowed at the target, before reaching back and launching a spear that flew directly into the target's chest. He nodded once, satisfied with the throw before making his way to the locker rooms to clean up before going to the Reaping. There was no amount of doubt in his mind; the Hunger Games were his this year.

The moment he stepped out of his house, he could feel the energy pulsing. In District 2, the Hunger Games were just what they sounded like, a game. Rather than a curse, volunteering was a pride that happened for nearly every single game. The crowds chattered loudly, as they sat, waiting for the District 2 Escort to arrive and the tributes to be chosen. He quickly registered and pricked his finger for identification before looking around. He grinned when he and Clove met eyes. Clove. He made his way over to her, having to push his way through the swarm of the crowd.

"Cato!" she yelled, jumping onto him. He grinned, hugging her and lifting her into the air before letting her back down.

"Hey Clove, are you ready?" Cato asked. It wasn't like he didn't know the answer to this.

She laughed, high and clear, "How dare you even question that, Cato. It's not like we've been paired together since the beginning of our dear Academy days."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course Clover," he said teasingly, ruffling her hair.

It was almost comical, the difference in height between them. His broad 6' 2" frame towered over her 5' 4" one, and while they were a good 3 years difference in age, she was his closest companion. Back at the academy, children in the district were trained vigorously. From the tender age of 5, they learned survival skills, and through the years were taught and trained in more of the offensive ones. Cato himself had always been one of the larger ones, he was the one everyone feared on the courtyard. Later, he had taken advantage of that power, realizing what it could do for him. Clove had been only 7, but had already taken a reputation. She was feisty. Her mentors had all but refused to work with her, after she had been the instigator of multiple fights during sessions. The only one that ended up working with her was the weapons instructor, who was both strict enough to deal with her, and appreciative of her skill with throwing knives. Interestingly enough, that was the only class that Cato had any appreciation for. Why learn to camouflage yourself when you could just intimidate everyone else or kill anyone that came in your way? (He managed to scrape by in his other classes, but still.) They bonded over weapons, later over grudging respect for each other, and after he had saved her from a fight, a mutual pact to protect each other.

Clove pushed his hands away, laughing a bit, "Stop it! My mom just braided my hair before I came." She grinned, showing off her white teeth and the light, sprinkling of freckles over her cheeks.

"I think your hair looks just fine, four-leaf," he teased again, patting her head before turning back to the stage. She rolled her eyes, and smoothed out her hair. Cato looked, an unreadable look on his face, "Are you going to miss anyone?"

She frowned,"Not really, I mean. There are my parents, but they're… too busy showing me off to care."

They both avoided the inevitable, one of them was going to die, if not both of them. Cato just hoped that it wouldn't be his hands that resulted in Clove's death. He pulled her into a tight hug, pulling away when the microphone squeaked and the Reaping started.

"I'll see you on the stage," he said, winking.

She laughed again, "Count on it."

Hey everyone, this is my first fanfiction that I've officially published. Peeta will probably come in the next couple of chapters, after they end up going to the capitol. I'd appreciate any criticism that anyone has, please review! Thanks! And I don't own any of the characters or the idea of the Hunger Games in this fanfiction, all this belongs to Suzanne Collins who created these wonderful characters. :3


	2. Reaping Day Pt 2

_Reaping Day Pt. 2_

Fanfare played, and the crowd cheered. A young woman toddled out on 5 inch stilettos, her skin painted a light blue and her teeth were almost abnormally white.

"Ah, welcome, welcome all to the Reaping Day for the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" she squealed into her microphone, her long feather covered eyelashes fluttered with the applause. Cato could practically hear Clove grumbling.

"I don't know about you, but I am absolutely excited for this year's games, how about everyone else?" The crowd cheered in affirmation and she beamed in response. "The time has come to select one boy and one girl to participate in this year's Hunger Games. Now let's see, why don't we start with the boys today?"

She waddled over to the bowl, her heels clicking noisily before stopping in front of the bowl.

"From the boys," she reached into the bowl. "William Slade."

He could feel the eyes of people on him, they all knew that he was going to be in this year. It was the last year for him after all and the Capitol be damned if he was going to waste this opportunity. His hand shot up in the air and very clearly he said, "I volunteer as tribute."

Of course, everyone in the district had expected this, and immediately went wild. Classmates that he barely talked to clapped him on the back, people were yelling his name and parted as he made his way to the stage. When he got there, he grinned, looking directly at Clove.

"Now now, let's find a girl, shall we?" Her heels clacked and stopped before she picked up a slip of paper. She began to say, "Rile-" before she was cut off by Clove's voice.

"I volunteer!" she exclaimed, hand waving in the air before she almost skipping her way over to the stage.

Cato nearly laughed at how enthusiastic she looked, raising an eyebrow at her when she stood next to him. She just grinned back before turning back to the district.

"These are your District 2 Tributes everyone! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor." and the crowd. Went. Wild.

They were escorted to the city building, where they were told to give their final goodbyes.

Cato was brought to a separate room, where he was told to wait for his family and friends. Less than a minute after he was brought in his mother rushed through the door and pulled him into a tight hug, murmuring comforts into his ears.

"Oh Cato," she said softly, pulling away and taking his face in her hands. "You're so old now, and now you're going off to the Hunger Games." Her eyes blinked away the tears, before she looked at him again. "I know you can do it Cato, both your father and I will be watching everything. We're so proud of you, just-" she paused, hesitating. "Come back home safe, please Cato?"

Unspoken words filled the room: Don't die.

Cato swallowed, unusually at a loss for words. Eventually he choked out, "I won't mother. I promise."

Her only response was to hug him tighter. He knew he got his strength from somewhere.

Cato's father was standing by the door. He walked forward, before putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't let us down son," he said quietly, as Rauf Stiprus was a rather silent man, though Cato knew his father meant just as much as his mother did. His father was strict, yes and not good with words at all. But Cato knew he meant well, he worked hard to give his family a modest living and made sure that Cato was given a healthy and happy childhood. His mother loved him, and he knew that it killed her that he was doing this (oh the irony), but he wanted his parents to be proud of him. To not have to worry about things so much, to live healthy lives and what better way to do this, than to win the games for them? His district expected this of him, he expected this for himself, and he expected this for the sake of his parents. After more tears and more tight, warm hugs, they were separated and Cato left for the train that would take them to the Capitol.

He entered after Clove, who stopped in her tracks and just stared.

"What's the big deal Clo-" started Cato, trailing off mid-sentence.

The car was nothing short of amazing. Their district did have it better than most, he was willing to admit that, but under no circumstances were they spoiled. His father worked down to the bone making sure that Cato would have everything that he needed and just a little bit more. He was healthy, but like everyone else, things weren't handed to him on a silver platter. The car was something the two of them had never seen, gold seemed to literally line every part of the car, and what wasn't gold were made of a pure, shiny metal or rich velvet. Tastefully decorated sweets lay on pretty trays, and drinks with fancy labels stood in lines behind glass doors.

"Good god," whispered Clove, her eyes were wide with wonderment. She took a few steps forward, before leaning forward to touch a tiny teacup.

"Well it looks like you two are enjoying themselves, aren't you?" said an amused voice.

'He looks familiar,' thought Cato, narrowing his eyes at the man. Suddenly he realized, "You're Brutus aren't you?" he ended up exclaiming, the surprise was evident in his voice. Brutus was huge, standing a good 5 inches taller than he was.

"I'm Brutus," said the giant, extending his hand in greeting. He grinned, boyish for his age.

"And I'm Enobaria," said the woman standing next to him. Her voice was soft and almost silky, and the only thing Cato could notice about her smile was her glinting tipped canines.

Brutus cleared his throat, "Well, as you already know, we're going to be your mentors this year. We know that you guys, as every year, are expected to win this competition. The academy has already given us your records."

Cato nodded, the academy had records on everyone's classes, their strengths and weaknesses, and any other notable things.

"So you know about both of us, right?"

Brutus nodded once, "Pretty much."

Enobaria looked at Clove, "Like the fact that you got kicked out of most of your classes." And upon seeing Cato's face said, "And the fact that you scraped by some of yours."

Bruce looked at Enobaria with disbelief, "Oh come on. We both know that at the academy no one actually _tries_. It's mostly just doing the thing that you're good at."

"No, I'll have you know that _I_ as a student tried hard in everything!" Enobaria said indignantly.

"Even shelter building?"

"Even… well that class had no use anyways," she said rushed.

"Well Enoba dear,"

"Don't call me that!"

"I specifically remember the 87th Games, wherein Ed-" he was cut off by a high, excited voice.

"I am SO excited for this year's Hunger Games guys!" said the blue skinned escort.

Cato looked at her, silent before Clove looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"And what's your name?" she questioned, a cool look on her face.

"Oh, I'm awfully sorry! I'm Callie Mavible! I'm your escort for this year's Hunger Games!" she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Oh, that's… wonderful," Clove said in a monotone.

Callie looked at her questioningly, before Brutus spoke up, "It really is. Have you seen the other tributes yet? Cause I've heard they're quite interesting this year." He led her away, helping her into another car.

Clove looked at the closed door for a minute before sighing in relief.

"Thank god, I thought she'd never leave."

Cato smirked, "So I was right about you disliking her from the minute she walked on the stage?"

Clove looked at his expression for a bit before playfully shoving him, "Yeah right." She shook her head, "Anyways," she looked at Enobaria, "What was Brutus talking about with the other tributes?" If anything, Clove was eager to scope out the competition, it wasn't bad to get some first impressions, was it?

"Oh yeah," replied Enobaria, "You guys haven't had a chance to see the other contenders. Have you?" Both Cato and Clove shook their heads.

"Ah, well we best be doing that now then. It's always helpful to scope out the competition," and at that, Clove beamed.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. This is my first story, and I was kind of scared of uploading it but I'm glad to see that I have some people who like it. So thank you to Crazyllamapersonlol, Fadi25402702, and kilo1133 for reviewing! I really appreciate it :3 I tried my best to make this longer than the last chapter and I know this is going kind of slow, but I just don't want to go head into the whole meeting Peeta thing. I'll do impressions next chapter! I promise! Anyways, thank you again and as always, constructive criticism is always welcome. :)


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